Toodyay Land Conservation District Committee - Weeds



	Guides to: Weeds Soils Species Lists Catchments Phillips Brook Wattening Jimperding Boyagerring Toodyay Community Groups: Friends of the River Seed Orchard Naturalists' Club Major Issues Salinity Soil Acidity Revegetation Erosion Livestock Management Advice for the Small Landholder Small Landholder Information Service All feral animals (rabbits, foxes, pigs, etc.), on the one Website, click here Avon Gorge Invasive Species Group click here Pest plants click here Click link below to our Strategy For the Future Meet the members of our Committee Click here		WEEDS WEED ISSUES IN TOODYAY Weeds are defined as 'plants out of place'. They are not necessarily from another country, or even state. They are simply plants that are not where they should be. Some weeds are well established in Toodyay and represent a challenge as far as control is concerned. Persistence is the key to controlling weeds on your property. Patersons curse (Echium plantagium) Previously, this weed covered the valley in a purple haze in spring and was the most familiar weed of Toodyay. Over recent years, biological control agents have been introduced. Seven different insects were approved for release in Australia. In Toodyay, the Paterson's curse crown weevil (Mogulones larvaatus) and Paterson's curse root weevil (Mogulones geographicus) have proved to be the most successful. The national programme on biological control of Paterson's curse is a cooperative project involving the CSIRO Division of Entomology, the former CRC for Weed Management Systems, and government authorities from each State and Territory. For more information on biological control of Paterson's curse on your property contact the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food. Paterson's curse is a Priority One (P1) declared weed, which restricts it being transported from one area to another (including in hay or other fodder). Always check if you are buying in hay or fodder that it is weed free. Feed it out in a small area so that if weeds germinate they can easily be controlled. Efforts by landholders to reduce Patersons curse should be undertaken with neighbouring properties to reduce reinfestation. Above: Photos showing weevil damage Back to the top Spiny or Sharp rush (Juncus acutus) A native of Europe, Africa and North America, this weed is rapidly spreading in Western Australian wetlands, river systems and creeks and seepages in agricultural areas. A worrying trend is that Juncus acutus is closely related to J. kraussii and there are documented cases where the two are growing together that they have hybridised. This hybrid is potentially more dangerous than the true J. acutus. If the plant appears on your property you should get it positively identified and remove it immediately.You can then remove it by digging out small populations or using a 1% solution of glyphosate 360 with a wetting agent such as Pulse. Timing is critical and best results are achieved when the plant is actively growing in spring an early summer. After plants are dead, fire is often used to reduce the biomass. You will however get regrowth from residual seed in the soil and these will need to be sprayed once they germinate. If you are spraying large areas you may need to plan for erosion control on some sites. An excellent paper has been written by Bob Dixon (Kings Park and Botanic Gardens) on the Control of Sharp rush. The Environmental Weeds Action Network has produced an excellent pamphlet on sharp rush in their series 'Managing Weeds in Bushland'. If you are contemplating weed control on a large scale you should consider first what you will replace weeds with. It may be revegetation, a perennial or annual pasture, a hay crop, an orchard or farm forestry, etc. If you dont plant something in that space, another weed will soon fill the vacant niche. Spot control amongst areas of vegetation or in paddocks will prevent weeds from becoming established. Areas of undisturbed native vegetation on private land and on reserves can be quite resistant to weed invasions. These areas may be susceptible when some disturbance factors allow weeds into the area. These disturbance factors can be: Fire that is not part of a vegetation management plan (e.g. a bushfire); this has the potential to allow weeds to invade an area. It is more likely to do so if it is adjacent to an area containing weeds and if there is no 'after fire' management of the site. Annual burning will reduce the capacity of remnant vegetation to regenerate and increase the growth of some weeds such as wild oats. Vehicles brought in to provide emergency fire breaks may bring in weeds from other sites. These sites should be monitored for weed outbreaks in the following two seasons after the fire. Grading operations to create roads and fire breaks have the potential to increase the spread of weeds into those areas which have previously been free of weeds. This can easily be addressed by ensuring that machinery is washed down when moving from a weed infested area in to one which is of high conservation value and has few weed problems. Spiny seeds of weeds such as double gee and caltrop will easily stick to tyres. There are weeds that are poorly established in Toodyay but have the potential to spread considerably if not controlled at an early stage. A great effort should be put into eradicating these before they get established. Also new weeds pop up from time to time. If you have an unfamiliar plant, report it to the the Department of Agriculture and Food in Northam, and get it identified. Back to the top Pest Plants There are three pest plants declared within the Shire of Toodyay (for more information on these and other weeds see 'Avon Valley Weeds. Bridal Creeper (Asparagus asparagoidies) This is an climbing plant introduced from South Africa. It is also a 'Weed of National Significance'. It spreads quickly in damp areas near water courses, and can quickly smother and kill native vegetation. It is spread by birds eating the seed. Again, there has been recent success with biological control on this plant, in the form of a rust fungus that has taken hold in the West Toodyay area, and along the Avon River near the townsite. Anyone wanting some of the rust fungus, please contact the the Toodyay Friends of the River (above left). Caltrop (Tribulus terrestris) A prostrate summer growing annual with pinnate leaves, it has yellow flowers 1cm across and spiny fruits which are painful to all. Will cause photosensitivity in sheep if grazed. Afghan Thistle (Solanum hoplopetalum) An extremely prickly perennial growing annually in spring from underground stems, and is troublesome in crop and pasture. It has oblong lobed leaves and white or pale blueish flowers in spring and summer. The Shire of Toodyay is reluctant to declare any more pest plants due to the cost of control. At present the Shire is not able to control pest plants on Shire land, and therefore cannot enforce private landowners to control these weeds on private property. So most weeds are left to spread. However if you have a problem with any pest plant coming on to your property, report it to the Shire. The Shire will respond to requests from ratepayers to control pest plants found on Shire land that are spreading onto private property. Back to the top 'Jumping the garden fence' (beware of cultivating invasive plants in your garden) This is the title of a joint report from the WWF and CSIRO that looks at invasive garden plants in Australia, and their environmental and agricultural impacts. Most weeds are introduced into Australia for ornamental horticulture. Those that are able to survive and reproduce in our harsh climate are likely to become invasive. Many of these plants continue to be available for sale in nurseries and garden centres. Gardeners need to be aware that by selecting these plants for their home garden they could be harming our native bushland and agricultural industry. Many garden favourites come into the invasive category including agapanthus, broom, ivy, morning glory, gazanias, statice, arum lilies, Italian lavender, evening primrose, monkey flower (known as Babiana), gladiolus, athel pine (or tamarix), lantana and many more. Some of thes plants such as Lantana camara and Athel pine are banned from being sold. Those ignoring this ban could face a fine of up to $20,000. You can recognise the signs of a potentially invasive plant. If it spreads rapidly, has berries or seeds eaten by birds or keeps coming up all over your garden after you have removed it, then it will most likely fit into this category. Introduced invasive plants harm biodiversity by replacing and out-competing native plants; often they have no natural predators and no specialised methods of pollination. They usually are able to produce large quantities of viable seed or reproduce by means such as underground rhizomes, bulbs or corms which give them an advantage in dry climates. In agricultural production millions of dollars are spent each year in trying to keep weeds out of crops and pasture where they will devalue the crop, contaminate wool, poison animals, can cause human allergies or more severe illness, and in some cases even cause blindness. Luckily there are hundreds of safe and ornamental exotic and native plants which can be grown. Please ask the CLSO for a local native species list for your garden. Back to the top Weed documents Avon Valley Weeds (2000) Herbicide resistance(2000) Links Weeds of National Significance State Weed Plan Department of Agriculture and Food Back to the top Back to home page